Emotionally upset with the neglect meted out to a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Gandhi Chhack in Jajpur town, a former bank employee took upon himself the task of cleaning it every day. And he has been doing it for last 27 years.
Come 9 am every day, Dr Suresh Chandra Dalai, clad in white pants and shirt, would arrive at the Gandhi Chhack to clean the statue. After cleaning the bust, he garlands it. Dr Dalai said he took up the task long back after watching the poor maintenance of the statue.
"The statue was being cleaned only on the occasion of Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti. Being a patriot, I tried to take up the matter with officials. But no one bothered to respond for which I decided to clean it myself,” said he.
"I had decided to clean the statue daily and garland the same till my last breath without any break," he said, adding that he did it for his own satisfaction and out of respect for Father of the Nation.
Nisith was felicitated with the Gandhi Puraskar on the Independence Day by district Collector Anil Kumar Samal for his noble work.
For him October 2, the birth anniversary of Gandhi, is a festive day.
On this day, every year, he organises a special function and many from different castes and religions join him to participate in the worshipping of Gandhiji. Intellectuals of the town, the elites, politicians, students and educationists enthusiastically participate the event every year.
He also organises a debate competition for the children, a seminar, a painting competition and a number of cultural programmes on the occasion.
He has never collected any donation to organise the event despite facing financial constraints. He criticises the present politicians for not following Gandhian philosophy.